Article

Growing Pains and Chiropractic

From the September 26, 2006 Research Update of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA) comes a preliminary case study that looks at the process of an adolescent boy with growing pains under chiropractic care. In this case a 3 year old boy was being affected by complaints of leg pain and lower back pain. On top of that, he experienced pain in both feet, headaches and recent bed wetting. He had received no prior treatment aside from his parents massaging his legs.The case study notes how the term growing pain has been used for an estimated 150 years. The term was initially coined by Duchamp in 1832 in his treatise, "Maladies de la Croissance." Reports say that what is referred to as "growing pains" occur in approximately 20% of kids and might be as high as 37% and is a little more prevalent in girls when compared with boys.

The study notes that growing pains can start in infancy with the greatest discomfort between the ages of 3-5 years and generally manage to disappear as the child matures. A number of conditions have been implicated (though not fully substantiated) as possible factors in growing pains such as rapid growth, overexertion, rheumatic conditions, infection, sacroiliac joint dysfunction, orthopedic defects, vague ill health, and psychological factors. The diagnosis of this condition is generally made by excluding other conditions and thus leaving merely the idea that the pains are "growing pains". In the matter of this young boy, a chiropractic examination revealed the existence of subluxations and a course of care was initiated. The care consisted of 15 visits spanning a 13 week period. After the first adjustment, the patient didn't complain of leg pain for 3 days. After 7 visits, the mother reported that her son was sleeping through the night without leg pains. By the 15th visit, the child had become and remained symptom-free for nearly 3 weeks. The author's conclusion of this study was, "This case report provides supporting evidence of the effectiveness of chiropractic care in kids with growing pains."Growing Pains and Chiropractic